Chicken and Eggs and Bird Flu

[GlorifiedRice]

So in the past few months of the Birdflu epidemic in the USA 11% of the US population has been killed.

I prefer Perdue chicken and Egglands Best eggs.

 

But the past 2 weeks Ive had to totally forgo eggs and chicken.. Ive had some weird chicken and super rubbery weird tasting eggs

even buying my fave brands.

This morning I ate miso soup with tofu, baby anchovies and tofu shirataki for breakfast.

However I did have a few Wawa Sizzlis where the eggs were fine.

 

Anyone else have any issues?

 

I bought mackerel and natto and tofu for my coming breakfasts. I need my protein cause I work out.

I might move over to Hatfield pork chops for a spell until the issues are over,

[Lisa Shock]

Egg prices are on the rise here, but, I belong to a cooperative exchange group of home gardeners and I am able to trade members for all the eggs I need. Also, egg prices aren't as bad here as some other places because Phoenix has egg farms and they have not been affected by the flu. It's just the name-brand out of state eggs that are really pricey. I don't follow the chicken situation as closely, but, local chicken farms are fine so far. (we had a quarantine because some breeding stock eggs shipped from the mid west were thought to be infected, but every farm was found to be fine) I think there has been a fairly good national effort to keep the flu from spreading. Not every area has it.

 

There are lots of other sources of protein, like nuts, seeds, combining beans with grains, etc. to consider as well.

[rotuts]

Ive followed this problem a bit differently:  Im 'generic' for eggs and fowl  

 

a doz large eggs at MarketBasket went from a day-to-day price of 1.49 to 2.49.  where I live (N.E.) brown eggs are endemic  and cost .45 cents more and taste the same

 

as the whites in my price range.  "store" brand eggs at the tony-er markets have been as high as 3.99 - 4.49 and taste the same as the MarketBasket ones

 

N.B.: 'store-brand'

 

what interesting only to me, I get skinless-boneless CkBr's for Bulk SV when I have freezer space, and they still come in at 1.99  ( > 3 lbs packs ) often and even 1.88

 

and my strike price $ 1.77 seems to come by at a similar frequency as before.  These sale prices are 'packed' up with different color trays / market and packed 

 

'else-where'.  Ive never bothered to ask where, but never packed by the butchers in individual stores.  I have 4 S-Markets around me.

 

so the egg issue seems to be a different one than the meat issue in my area.

 

the 2.49 eggs taste the same as the previous 1.49 eggs to me.  the current $ 1.77 SkinlessBoneless CkBk taste the same as the pre-BF $1.77

 

Id have to have my head examined to see what the $ 4.49 > 3 lbs CkBr taste like, but visually they seem the same.

[AlaMoi]

here's a curious issue.....

 

for a thousand years I've been buying store brand large eggs.  no complaints.

 

an aside:  sometime back a batch of folk were raving about Eggland's Best.  bought a dozen - despite similar pack dates, the Eggland white were far runner, the yolks far flatter - just plain old not as fresh....

 

back to the future of now,,,, our market posted signs 'sporadic egg shortages' etc...  one day the only thing on the shelf was brown eggs, so I bought a dozen.  apparently the browns are sourced locally / whatever because they struck me gag-gag as soon as I cracked one open - tall yolks, really nice color, firm whites - very fresh.

 

can't say they taste way better, certainly not buying into the more nutritious theory, but they are prettier on the plate - I like 'em!

[GlorifiedRice]

here's a curious issue.....

 

an aside:  sometime back a batch of folk were raving about Eggland's Best.  bought a dozen - despite similar pack dates, the Eggland white were far runner, the yolks far flatter - just plain old not as fresh....

 

back to the future of now,,,, our market posted signs 'sporadic egg shortages' etc...  one day the only thing on the shelf was brown eggs, so I bought a dozen.  apparently the browns are sourced locally / whatever because they struck me gag-gag as soon as I cracked one open - tall yolks, really nice color, firm whites - very fresh.

 

 

Well, I think that it might be a store money saving issue. When you do the pre-purchase broken egg check and you find a broken eggshell, you set those down and get a new carton. Well what happens to the cartons with broken eggs? do they toss the entire carton out? Or do they wait take out the broken eggs and shuffle eggs around and put em back on the shelf?

About Egglands Best? Ive occasionally seen EB eggs with smudged or faded red stamps, and so I wont buy those as I think those must be older eggs.

Id hate to believe that entire cartons of eggs get tossed out because 1 egg is cracked.

 

Ill buy a carton of the EB brown eggs today and see... But Im still queazy over those last hard boiled eggs I had that were like eating pure silicone.

 

As for the chcken, before cooking the breasts were nice and plump and larger than normal, after indoor grilling they shrunk to half their size and were tough and had the texture of CURED smoked pork chops.

 

Im off to make some miso soup.

[AlaMoi]

perhaps an unclear post on my part . . . .

nothing to do with cracked eggs in the carton.

 

using the brown eggs in my kitchen is where the cracking part comes in.

 

oh, I always open the carton and look, I have found cracked ones, I have found eggs invisibly (from the top) cracked and "glued" in their pocket - so I always run my finger down the rows to ensure they are free to wiggle.  more than once I've handed a carton with cracked eggs to a store employee who happened by - he thanks me, takes the carton, and disappears.  I have not a clue what they do with those eggs, although the store does have an in-house hot and cold prepped food - Chinese dishes to order, etc. so they do have a spot to use them.

[Shelby]

Eggs around here got up to almost $4/dozen but now have come back down to $2.50.  I'm not sure why.  I haven't bought any for quite a few months, though, because I buy them from a wonderful girl down the road.

 

I hope her chickens stay healthy!

[AlaMoi]

had to hunt down this pix.... 

 

two eggs, Julian pack dates on carton were two days apart.

one is Giant store brand.

one is Egglands Best.

 

which is who?

 

 

things to keep in mind:

as an egg ages, the white gets thinner.

as an egg ages, the chalaza 'disappears' (that's the stringy thing attached to the yolk...)

as an egg ages, the yolk looses cohesion and flattens out.

and the kicker is:

the pack date - required by USDA - is not related to when the egg was laid/produced.

eggs can sit in cold storage for a long time before they are inspected and packaged.

[GlorifiedRice]

perhaps an unclear post on my part . . . .

nothing to do with cracked eggs in the carton.

 

using the brown eggs in my kitchen is where the cracking part comes in.

 

oh, I always open the carton and look, I have found cracked ones, I have found eggs invisibly (from the top) cracked and "glued" in their pocket - so I always run my finger down the rows to ensure they are free to wiggle.  more than once I've handed a carton with cracked eggs to a store employee who happened by - he thanks me, takes the carton, and disappears.  I have not a clue what they do with those eggs, although the store does have an in-house hot and cold prepped food - Chinese dishes to order, etc. so they do have a spot to use them.

 

No, what i was trying to say was that maybe your bad Egglands Best experience was due to people saving up the cartons that had one or two cracked eggs and then later piecing together full cartons out of the unbroken ones. Therefore the pieced together cartons would be older..

[sparrowgrass]

Cold storage rule is 30 days, or was when I was grading eggs.

 

I just bought 25 pullets, hoping egg prices stay high thru the winter, when they will begin laying.    Planning to fund my retirement.

 

Also bought 6 turkeys and 8 banties--maybe I need an intervention?

[rotuts]

what's the advantage of bandies ?  smaller eggs ?

[AlaMoi]

when people start getting sick and barfing in Aisle 11, state and federal authorities look to the codes printed on products - plant, packing date, lot code, etc. 

 

I suspect supermarkets would be disinclined to repack various and sundry eggs into 'other' cartons, but you really never know.....

 

sparrowgrass - I have never found, altho I have searched, an FDA/USDA reg / rule about how long eggs can sit around prior to inspect/pack.  the rules have changed sorta'-recent; eggs have to be refrigerated within 24 hours and kept/stored/shipped under refrigeration up to the point of sale, for example.

 

was that 30 day an internal guideline, or do you know of a regulatory source for max storage prior to inspection?

[GlorifiedRice]

when people start getting sick and barfing in Aisle 11, state and federal authorities look to the codes printed on products - plant, packing date, lot code, etc. 

 

I suspect supermarkets would be disinclined to repack various and sundry eggs into 'other' cartons, but you really never know.....

 

sparrowgrass - I have never found, altho I have searched, an FDA/USDA reg / rule about how long eggs can sit around prior to inspect/pack.  the rules have changed sorta'-recent; eggs have to be refrigerated within 24 hours and kept/stored/shipped under refrigeration up to the point of sale, for example.

 

was that 30 day an internal guideline, or do you know of a regulatory source for max storage prior to inspection?

 

So what happens to the unbroken eggs in a carton where 1 egg is broken?

[Toliver]

I just returned from a week's vacation staying with my mom in the San Diego area. At my mom's local Von's grocery store, a dozen eggs (not Eggland's Best) would set you back about $4.50 or so.

As an aside, my mom used them to make deviled eggs, defying the unwritten rule that old eggs are best for boiling/deviling. I can't explain it...I don't know what she did differently but the yolks on her boiled eggs were perfect and bright yellow...no green exterior! Color me shocked. 

 

Regarding the bird flu and fowls...I've previously posted about this but millions of turkeys were slaughtered earlier this year because of the bird flu. The turkey farmers didn't know if they could raise a new crop of birds in time for Thanksgiving this year so that may translate into higher prices at Thanksgiving.

[AlaMoi]

...defying the unwritten rule that old eggs are best for boiling/deviling. I can't explain it...I don't know what she did differently but the yolks on her boiled eggs were perfect and bright yellow...no green exterior! Color me shocked.

 

aged eggs are better at being peeled.  boiled/deviled isn't an issue there.

 

"no green" - the green is a sulfur & iron reaction between the yolk and the white; and it is due to one single factor:  over-cooking.  end of story, no other reasons need apply.

[AlaMoi]

...So what happens to the unbroken eggs in a carton where 1 egg is broken?

 

no clue.

 

it could be instructive to ask the manager(s)?

 

eggs are only required by law to show the inspecting/packing plant code and the Julian date of packing.

_if_ a use by/best by/mealymouthedotherwordsdates are used, it must be not coded - i.e. in an "open" date format.  mmm-dd for example - and that date may not exceed 45 days from packing (if memory serves....I have been known to error....)

 

a couple years back there was a mega-flappola because apparently at that time - and quite possibly still.... - out of date eggs could be returned to the processing facility where they would be rewashed, reinspected, repacked and resold with a new date.

 

in theory this meant the eggs in the carton with a date 44 days from now could be 20-30 year old eggs that have been recycled many times......

okay, an exaggeration, but your get the drift, no?

 

in the midst of the flappola my market had a big sign:  "our eggs are not reprocessed"

 

so perhaps cartons of eggs with a busted one are returned to the vendor for 'reprocessing'?

[rotuts]

im guessing that very few eggs are busted.  all i know is what ive dealt with myself.  its more common for me to get home and find an egg

 

thats 'stuck' to the carton due to a small crack at its base.  even this is rare.  for me.

 

so Id guess returning so few cartons would be cost prohibitive .  just a guess

 

Ill bet they are tossed.  lots and lots of food at supermarkets is tossed.

 

it is possible that those stores that cook items use them for, say those breakfast sandwiches or what ever, but I doubt they would let on about this.

 

this would probably be on an individuals initiative id guess ;  the returned item is taken to the kitchen by an individual rather than a store policy.

 

so my vote is tossed.  think of the cost of a doz. eggs.  $ 1.49 - 2.49 my area now. and there has to be a mark up.

Edited July 13, 2015 by rotuts (log)

[GlorifiedRice]

Ill call Acme tomorrow and ask. That way I wont offend my fave Giant

[AlaMoi]

..Ill bet they are tossed.  lots and lots of food at supermarkets is tossed.

 

fresh produce that fails some definition gets tossed, as does thawed fish, meats as well - except meat the market typically drastically marks down 'for quick sale'

 

dry goods, breads, etc. - typically stocked by the manf. rep. - out of date stuff is culled and the manf. takes it back.  just today a non-store dude was pawing through frozen pizza, putting buckets and buckets of boxes in his 'cart' - I asked if there was a recall and he said no, just expiring product.....

 

supermarkets operate on a very slim profit margin - typically 1-2%  they cannot afford to throw away all the three day old bread - the baker delivery guys gathers up all the old stuff and takes it back for credit.  those cute little plastic clip ties are color coded so the rep can quickly spot old stuff.

[rotuts]

"""   the baker delivery guys gathers up all the old stuff and takes it back for credit """

 

sure , for the store.   then that baker guy dumps it in the dumpster.

 

they can't put it in the  " for the Food Bank " bins, as then patrons might see the bread and think there is something wrong w the label

 

for a long time  I met up with the Baker Guy, at then end of his route for a very nice, high end bakery, and he gave me the stuff he was about to dump.

 

I took it to my food pantry, and the pantry was very pleased.  that pantry said they have arrangements w some bakes who willingly do this.

 

the bread with whole grains and dried fruits makes a better breakfast for many not far from me, with a little peanut butter also from the pantry , than most of us have.

 

food waste is astonishing when you think about it.

[Martin Fisher]

What came first, the high chicken prices or the high egg prices? 

 

A dozen large supermarket eggs are running $2.49 a dozen around here.

 

About the same as the long running and current $2.50 per dozen for for locally home grown fresh eggs.

 

Luckily, I can get them dirt cheap (in real cost) via barter.

[sparrowgrass]

Rotuts, the advantage of banties is that they are so darn CUTE.  Little mini chickens--love them.

 

Alamoi, I worked as a grader almost 15 years ago, and the thirty days was according to USDA regulations.  Have no idea what the rules are now, thank goodness they don't concern me.

[AlaMoi]

.....then that baker guy dumps it in the dumpster.

 

I'm sure that happens somewhere under some circumstances.  when I was a yung'un we had bakery outlet stores.  you could buy the out of date bread right cheap there.

 

in this area we have a couple stores that specialize in out of date product - just about nothing in the store is 'in date' - cases and pallets full of bottled drinks, vegetables and soups, frozen foods - especially seafood - frozen shrimp 30 days past,,, for $1/lb - it's a deal....  and all the bread products.

 

our local food banks will not accept out of date items - because the starving masses relying on the food bank to eat will not take it.  it's bad, it's spoiled, why you passing off this garbage on me?.....  it does make one question the depth of the need....

[gulfporter]

I buy eggs (locally produced) at a small produce stand.  While they sell them by the flat, I buy them individually since I am not baking much these days. 

 

Two months ago they were 16 cents each; this morning they were 22 cents each.  

[rotuts]

still cheap.  nice deal.